Nine in ten South Africans who voted in the 2026 local government elections believe that the elections were free and fair, according to a survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

The survey, conducted on behalf of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), interviewed 13 198 voters at 300 voting stations across the country’s nine provinces.

The findings show that 90% of respondents believed the election procedures were free, while 91% considered them fair.

Only 2% said that the elections were not free, while 2% believed they were not fair. The HSRC also found that just 1% of respondents said the elections were neither free nor fair.

Voters also expressed confidence in the secrecy of their ballots, with 95% saying they were satisfied that their votes had remained secret.

Confidence in the counting process was similarly high. A total of 51% said they were completely confident that their votes would be counted accurately, while 32% were very confident, and 9% were quite confident.

The HSRC said the findings provided strong evidence that voters generally experienced the electoral process as accessible, professionally managed, free and fair.

The survey also found that 86% of voters considered their voting stations easily accessible to elderly people and people with disabilities.

The HSRC said the preliminary findings indicated that confidence in the administration of elections remained resilient, even as trust in the IEC itself had declined over successive elections.